Peaceful Easy Feeling Guitar Lesson (Step-By-Step)

Here’s an iconic song that, in my opinion, is the epitome of the “California Rock” sound.

It was made famous in the 70s by the Eagles. You’ll find it contains smooth vocals, a story behind it, and some brilliant guitar playing.

When I hear it I think of cruising the coast with the windows down. 

So grab your guitar and let’s dive into this Peaceful Easy Feeling guitar lesson!

Who wrote Peaceful Easy Feeling?

"Peaceful Easy Feeling" was written by Jack Tempchin an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with the Eagles. Born on February 7, 1947, in San Diego, California. Tempchin has had a prolific career, both as a solo artist and as a collaborator with some of the biggest names in rock and country music.

Tempchin wrote "Peaceful Easy Feeling" in 1969, inspired by a night he spent in a club in El Centro, California. According to Tempchin, the song was born out of his experiences with women and a sense of longing for a simple, tranquil love. He wrote the lyrics while sitting in the club, observing people and imagining a peaceful relationship.

Tempchin later played it for Glenn Frey, who was impressed and decided to bring it to the Eagles. Frey's relaxed, mellow delivery of the vocals perfectly matched the song's easygoing vibe, leading to it becoming one of the band's signature tracks.

"Peaceful Easy Feeling" was recorded in London at Olympic Studios and in Los Angeles at Island Studios, where the Eagles worked with producer Glyn Johns. The song features Glenn Frey on lead vocals and guitar, with Bernie Leadon on guitar, Randy Meisner on bass, and Don Henley on drums. The harmony vocals, a hallmark of the Eagles' sound, were crucial to the track's success.

Credits

• Lead Vocals and Guitar: Glenn Frey
• Guitar: Bernie Leadon
• Bass and Backing Vocals: Randy Meisner
• Drums and Backing Vocals: Don Henley
• Songwriter: Jack Tempchin
• Producer: Glyn Johns

"Peaceful Easy Feeling" was released as the third single from the Eagles' debut album. It reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973, solidifying the band's presence in the rock music scene.

Peaceful Easy Feeling Chords

You only need to know 6 chords to play “Peaceful Easy Feeling” on guitar they are E, Esus4, A, B7, F#m11, and Asus2.

Let’s take a look at some common ways to approach these chord changes on guitar. 

E is played in open position using all six strings like this:

To move to the Esus4 chord (from E), simply add down your pinkie finger on the 3rd string 2nd fret like this:

This “sus4” stands for suspended 4th. A sus chord on guitar is a type of chord that typically omits the third interval and replaces it with either a second or a fourth interval. This creates a sound that is neither major nor minor, often producing a sense of tension or anticipation that wants to resolve to a major or minor chord.

A is played from the 5th string down like this:

B7 is also played from the 5th string down like this:

Asus2/F# is another sus chord and also a slash chord. A slash chord is essentially a chord that includes a specific bass note different from the root note. In this case, the bass note is F#. The chord functions in the song as an F#m, but it makes an easy transition in the chord progression when you use this chord (see more on this in the video above). For Asus2/F# we’ll play all the strings except for the 5th string like this:

Finally, Asus is played the same way as the Asus2/F#, here we’ll just change the bass note to the 5th string open like this:

To better map these chords out on the neck grab my FREE fretboard guide here:

From there, we’ll take all these chords and put them into the different sections of the song, of which there are 3 main parts.

1. Intro
2. Verse
3. Chorus

The intro is just a 4-bar phrase alternating between a bar of E and a bar of Esus4 like this:

E (1 bar)

Esus (1 bar)

E (1 bar)

Esus (1 bar)

Then we move on to the verse section, which starts off alternating a bar of E to a bar of A 3 times.

E (1 bar)

A (1 bar)

E (1 bar)

A (1 bar)

E (1 bar)

A (1 bar)

Then finishes with 2 bars of B7:

B7 (2 bars)

The chorus section starts on the A chord for 2 bars and then moves to the E chord for 2 bars like this:

A (2 bars)

E (2 bars)

Then 2 bars of B7 like this:

B7 (2 bars)

Finally, the chorus wraps up with a “walk-up” chord progression that goes E, Asus2/F#, Asus2, and B7 all lasting one bar each:

E (1 bar)

Asus2/F# (1 bar)

Asus2 (1 bar)

B7 (1 bar)

This “walk-up” progression is also used as a tag at the end of the song.

Peaceful Easy Feeling Strumming Pattern

The easiest strumming pattern to play for “Peaceful Easy Feeling” is a simple down, down, up, up, down, up strumming pattern like this:

If you count out the rhythms, this uses a combination of quarter and eighth notes like this:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

D   d  u    u d u

This pattern can continue throughout the entire song and helps get that “California Folk Rock” sound.

What key is Peaceful Easy Feeling in?

“Peaceful Easy Feeling” is in the key of E major. It’s a simple song and the chord progression can be boiled down to just 4 chords E, F#m, A, B7 in function.

In the key of E major, the chords E, F#m, A, and B7 are all diatonic chords, meaning they are built from the notes of the E major scale. The E major scale is the notes E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, and D#. Let's analyze each chord and see how they relate to each other within this key.

E Major (I)

Notes: E, G#, B

Function: Tonic (I) - the home chord and the key center.

F# Minor (ii)

Notes: F#, A, C#

Function: Supertonic (ii) - a minor chord used as a passing chord in the song.

A Major (IV)

Notes: A, C#, E

Function: Subdominant (IV) - provides a sense of movement away from the tonic, often leading to the dominant. The chorus of “Peaceful Easy Feeling” starts on this chord.

B7 (V7)

Notes: B, D#, F#, A

Function: Dominant 7th (V7) - creates tension that resolves back to the tonic (E major). The dominant 7th chord includes a minor seventh interval from the root (B to A).

Peaceful Easy Feeling Guitar Lesson (Easiest Way)

If the above version is too difficult. Here is what I believe to be one of the easiest ways to play "Peaceful Easy Feeling" on guitar. But keep in mind you will need a capo, if you want to play it in the original key.

Peaceful Easy Feeling Guitar Solo

The guitar solo on "Peaceful Easy Feeling" was played by Bernie Leadon. Leadon was a founding member of the Eagles and a multi-instrumentalist known for his work on guitar, banjo, and other stringed instruments. His solo on "Peaceful Easy Feeling" is characterized by its melodic and relaxed style, perfectly complementing the laid-back feel of the song. I have a theory that he used an open tuning, but it’s hard to tell without having isolated tracks.

The solo primarily uses notes from the E major scale. Here is a common way to play this scale on guitar:

Conclusion:

To wrap it up, "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles captures the essence of the California Rock sound with its smooth vocals, compelling story, and brilliant guitar work. 

Written by Jack Tempchin, the tune has become a lasting classic since its release in the 1970s. 

Keep practicing, and if you want to learn songs way faster, better understand the fretboard, and not waste years spinning your wheels with guitar, grab my free fretboard guide here right now:

Jon MacLennan